The evening suns cast their rays on the buildings of Mos Espa, bathing the town in a warm pink glow. Watto gazed a few moments at them, then shook his head, sighed and went back into his shop.

Another day was gone, and there had been no customers. At this rate, he would't earn half the money he owed the Hutts by the deadline. There was no real choice.

"Sir, I'm nearly finished," said the droid sitting at the back of the room. "I cleaned out the fuel cannisters and I have nearly finished programming these binary loadlifters."

Watto nodded. "Good work. I suppose you better close up the shop and finish that."

"At once, sir."

The Toydarian sighed again. Maybe he could take off the droid's coverings - they had cost him enough - and play a little sabacc?

No. There were sharp people in town today, Watto had no chance of beating them. He would have to sell the slave woman, and the droid, then go off somewhere to retire.

He looked up as Shmi Skywalker stepped in from her room - he had had to force her to sell her house years ago - gave him a glance, then walked past him to the back door. Watto glared after her - after all, things had started going downhill when he lost her son on that podrace. She had become silent, withdrawn, the boy's expertise had been missed in the workshop, and business had gone down, rapidly. Although the droid had been some help - after Watto discovered it - he had made a few rash wagers and now lay deep in debt.

* * *

As the last portion of Tatoo II sank below the horizon, a ship descended into the desert a few miles from Mos Espa.

eek.gif WOW! Great set-up for the inevitable Shmi/Sith Lord scene, Jedi Rox! A job well done!

I just want to ask for one favor: I want to be the one to write that part. I've already got an idea planned for it, but I can't write it until after we settle the Drin/Sing issue. Does anyone object to this?

Now, with that said and done...

---------------------------------------------

Sing and Mereel finally stopped their endless running and checked behind them to see if any of their robotic friends were still after them. The corridor remained dark, quiet, and undisturbed. Not a single blaster was fired in their direction, no footsteps sounded, no whirring of droid servomotors.

Just silence.

Sing heaved a sigh of relief. "Hopefully, that's the last we'll see of them."

"With our luck?" Mereel said ironically. "Doubtful." He then looked away from the bounty hunter.

Sing suddenly began feeling uneasy. None of this felt right at all. Here she was, taking the side of her worst enemy, after trying to kill him several times already, and Mereel trying to kill her. The man she had once seduced...whose mother she had once killed.

Drin suddenly popped in her mind. Did Mereel know that Drin was--?

Sing wouldn't touch that question with a ten-meter lightsaber.

"Why did you help me?" she finally asked.

Mereel still wouldn't look at her. "I don't know. When I saw...Mother"--he choked when she said that word--"beating you, I was...happy. I wanted so much for her to kill you, after all you had put us through. I would've had my revenge."

"So why did you save me from Choran?"

Mereel hesitated. "All my life," he said, "I've searched for you. I promised that one day I would find you...and kill you. I would relish bathing in your blood, watching as the life slowly drained from your eyes. I would take your head as a trophy, which I prize more than my Wookiee scalps." He gently touched the braids that hung at his neck. "I didn't want anyone else to take that away from me."

Sing swallowed hard. "So, the only reason you helped me was because you wanted to kill me yourself, and not Choran?"

The hunter nodded. "That pretty much sums it up."

Sing knew that he was partly lying. But she said nothing of it. "Fe--I mean...Jaster..." She suddenly didn't know what to say. "There's something I have to tell you...about your sister."

Mereel turned to face her, his eyes widening at the mention of his family. "What do you know of my sister? She's dead as far as I'm concerned."

Sing took a deep breath. She did not want to say this, but she knew that to had it would only make it worse. "I don't know how to say this, Mereel...so I'm just gonna say it. Your sister is--"

Suddenly, an elbow collided full force into her face, cutting her off in mid-sentence. Sing cried out as a bright flash of pain exploded behind her eyes, and she collapsed to the floor.

She nearly blacked out, and when she looked up, the person she had not wanted to see stood over her.

"Surprise, Sing," Yelgah Drin said.

*********************************************

Mereel reacted fast. Even as the woman spoke, his fist came up and around, striking Drin sharply across the face. Taken by surprise, Drin's head snapped to one side, and she yelled in pain.

Seconds later, she faced him, blood running down the corner of her mouth. "Nice move, Fett," she snarled. "I've got some of my own."

Before Mereel could hit her again, Drin sent an extremely powerful kick that struck him in the gut, throwing him several yards down the corridor. He hit the floor and slid into the wall, where he lost consciousness...

*********************************************

"Drin, no!" Sing shouted, starting to get back up. "What are you doing?"

Drin turned to confront her. "You didn't think I was going to find you, did you, Sing?" she snapped angrily, whipping a blaster pistol from her belt.

Sing slowly stood on both feet, her face hurting from Drin's punch. She ignored it and focused on her former friend. "Drin, please, it doesn't have to end like this."

Sing eyed her warily. "What is it you really want, Shaana? When you've killed me, what then?"

"I don't think that would interest you Sing. You won't get me to change my intent so don't even try."

Sing pressed on. "What about them? You just saw them leave, I'm sure. Will you go to them? Do you even know who they are?"

Shaana stared coldly at her. "It wouldn't interest me."

"They're your children Shaana."

Shaana's face remained steady, impassive. "That is no concern of mine."

"What?"

"I was brought back, to my good fortune. For one purpose." Shaana ignited her lightsaber. "To have my revenge."

Sing's blade appeared just in time to block Shaana's slash. She riposted, brought her blade forth but Shaana dodged it. Shaana attacked again, once more Sing was able to block. But it was no use - Shaana was strong, and Sing was already exhausted, not to mention wounded. Slowly but steadily the bounty hunter was beaten back. With a fast backhand Shaana knocked Sing's weapon from her hand, and sent her crashing to the floor.

"Stop!" called a firm, authoritative voice. Three lightsaber blades appeared in the gloom. Shaana spun to face the new threat.

"Mace Windu!?" gasped Sing.

Windu nodded. "Stay there. We'll take care of this."

"Wrong," said Sing, drawing blasters from her left and right hips. Six shots pierced the Shaana clone in the abdomen and legs. The clone fell, silently, her weapon clattering to the floor.

* * *

For a moment Mace Windu just stood there. Then he said, "She's still alive."

Adi Gallia nodded. "What are we to do with her?"

Mace considered. "You stay with her--get her to our transport. Plo Koon and I will go to find this Sith Master. We need to find out who he is. Aurra Sing is to come with us."

But Sing had already disappeared down the corridor.

* * *

Darth Sidious cursed as he entered his private transport. Although he had executed the faithful Doctor Karsof for his mistakes in creating the clone, Sidious knew that this disaster was not the doctor's fault alone. The incompetence of Choran was another factor.

And the bounty hunters. Sidious was the sort that learned from mistakes, and he knew now how unpredictable the hunters were. He would avoid dealing with bounty hunters in future.

Still, this had only been a backup plan. The greater project awaits. That will not fail. Even now Darth Bane should have arrived.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Geneva,Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jedi Rox:
BTW my full sympathies go out to Mereel for that last kick...OUCH!

Oh, Jedi Rox, you haven't seen anything yet...

---------------------------------------------

Yelgah Drin slowly paced around Boba Fett, twirling a vibroblade around her fingers.

The bounty hunter was gagged and tied up to a chair in the middle of Trenik Molean's persona quarters. It was an unusually plush room, which stood out amongst the roughness of Hell's Oasis. Molean apparently liked spending a lot of credits for himself. I'm sure he won't mind that I borrow his room for a while, Drin thought with a smile.

When she had arrived at Hell's Oasis, carrying the unconscious Boba Fett on her shoulder, Drin had found the place deserted. She was willing to bet that Griss, Ynndo, Molean, and everyone else had gone out to look for her. She had noticed that a part of the building had been destroyed. Must've happened during that blaster fight.

Fett was now stripped of his plate armor, revealing only a white shirt that covered his chest. He was barely conscious, and his eyes reflected fear and anger at Drin for doing this to him.

Drin then slashed with the vibroblade, cutting deep into Fett's left arm until it was scraping at the bone. The man screamed, which was made quieter with the gag that had been forced into his mouth. Blood spurted into the air, getting all over Drin's pants leg.

"Look what you did now!" Drin said, a sneer spreading across her face. "These were my favorite pants!" She wiped the blood off the vibroblade by rubbing it against Fett's cheek.

"Enjoying this yet, my dear?" Drin said, pacing around the hunter again, like a sand panther stalking its prey. "Because we're only getting started. First, I think I'll stab you with this a couple of times. Then maybe use a laser-cutter to slice off every one of your fingers and toes. Hopefully, Sing will be there before things get really bloody..."

Fett could only glare at her, but it was a weak one.

Drin traced the blade over his ribs, teasing him with it. "Let the torture begin," she said, and jabbed forth...

Aurra Sing arrived at Hell's Oasis within ten minutes. When she got there, she noticed that the entire compound was empty. Everyone--the smugglers, Trenik Molean--had disappeared. That seemed odd, since Sing knew that Molean kept his headquarters guarded constantly. Something must have happened to them. Sing looked up and saw that the main building had been damaged. It looked as if an explosion had gone off inside, and it had torn a good portion of the structure. Sing wondered what had happened.

Reaching down to clasp her lightsaber, Sing closed her eyes and stretched out with the Force. She could feel Drin's presence--dark, strong, and so full of pain and hate.

Sing sucked in a deep breath, knowing that the moment she had dreaded for so long had finally arrived. Ever since Shaana's death, Sing had never told anyone about it, especially not Drin. She had hoped to put it all behind her, to forget about it, to pretend that it was all just a bad dream. But it wasn't.

The compound was silent. Not one thing mad a sound. No wind, no footsteps, no shrill cries of the various creatures that took refuge in the Coruscant underworld. Just...silence.

Sing's eyes opened, and she lifted her head up into the cool night sky. She could barely see the small lights of hovercars that flew thousands of feet over her head. How she wished she could be up there, away from this dark hellhole, away from the painful memories, away from Drin. But that was wishful thinking. Sing knew that she didn't go through with this. She could just turn back, go away, and never see Drin again.

But she knew that wasn't the answer. If she ran now, she would running for the rest of her life. The memories would continue to haunt her, Shaana's face would continue to disturb her in her dreams. And the guilt would keep eating away at her, bit by bit, until it destroyed her. Sing couldn't live with that.

She didn't want to do this. Drin had once been her closest friend. They had been through so much together--so many adventures, so many near-deaths, so many lovers. Sing never knew that it would come to this. They were now enemies, and if Drin still wanted her revenge..then Sing would have to kill her.

Jaster Mereel's face twisted in pain. His breath was uneven, and sweat mixed with blood trickling down his forehead. Who was this woman, who was mad enough to be so terrible? How could Sing have done something to provoke such rage?

Mereel paused to consider. What am I thinking? This is Sing. How would I react if I captured someone who I thought was helping Sing?

Mereel tried to put himself in the other woman's shoes, found that yes, her anger was justified. Not that I'm too pleased with it, he reflected as the woman sent another kick into his face.

"So what's your little game, anyway?" asked the female. Mereel tried to concentrate on her...wasn't she that other bounty hunter Sing had been working with? Yelgah Somebody-or-other?

"You're a double-crossing scumbag," snarled the woman, "You were trying to kill Sing, now suddenly you're with her? Still plotting behind her back of course. You're no better than she is, Fett."

Me? Nobody is as bad as Sing, not by a long shot.

Seeming to sense his thoughts, she grinned humourlessly. "Oh, believe it, Fett. You're prepared to sell out anyone for profit and you's stoop as low as Sing anyday. You're building quite a reputation for yourself. Too bad I'll probably decide to kill you along with Sing."

Mereel stared wild-eyed at her, struggled with the gag in his mouth. She would pay for this.

"Don't even try it!" snarled the female bounty hunter, walking behind Mereel and grabbing one of his hands. She tightened her fist around his fingers, snapping bone. Mereel cried out in pain, choking on the gag. Drin laughed.

"Stand back against the wall, Drin," said a voice behind Mereel. It was Aurra Sing.

Drin? Mereel's eyes bulged in his head.

Sing walked further into the room. She had a blaster held on the woman.

The other laughed. "Come and get me, Sing. Hah, you havent got the guts to shoot me or I'd be dead by now."

Drin stepped away from Boba Fett, her eyes fixated on Aurra Sing. Her supposed friend, her mother's murderer, the woman who had betrayed her by killing the most important person in her life, now stood before her, aiming a blaster at Drin's chest. "You're early, Sing. I expected you at least twenty minutes later."

Sing shifted the blaster in her hand. "What can I say? I didn't want to waste any time."

"So, you're just gonna kill me like that," Drin said. "A bit cowardly, don't you think? I mean, here I am, unarmed, and you've got a blaster aimed at me. Come on, Sing. You don't want it to end so quickly. I'm sure you can think of slower, more painful, and inventive ways to kill me."

Sing shook her head and tossed her blaster to the floor. "Fine, Drin. Let's settle this the old-fashioned way, why don't we? I know that I did some terrible things to you--and to your family. But I just want you to know that I am sorry. I can never make it right for you. You are my friend, Drin, and you always will be."

As expected, Drin stole a glance over her shoulder. Fett was still bound to his seat. Too late, she realized that it had been a trick.

Sing's foot suddenly flashed out, hitting Drin squarely in the gut and knocked her several feet back. Drin hit the ground, a stunned expression on her face.

She was up seconds later, a vibroblade now in her hand. With an animal screech, she ran toward her opponent and slashed--

--and Sing quickly dodged the blow. She sidestepped, and her elbow smashed into Drin's back. She stumbled forth, nearly loosing her balance. But she managed to regain her footing, and threw a kick for Sing's gut, which was knocked aside by the other's arm.

Drin aimed two more slashes with the vibroblade. Sing ducked the first blow and deflected the other with her hand. She then cried out as Drin kicked her in the groin. The blow knocked Sing back a few steps, and she bent over in pain.

Sing recovered, and as Drin moved in for the kill, she kicked the vibroblade out of the woman's hand. Drin then threw a punch for Sing's head. Anticipating it with the Force, Sing's hand came up and grabbed her fist in mid-swing. Holding Drin immobile, Sing slugged her hard in the face. A second punch shattered her nose, and Sing followed with a head-butt that snapped Drin's head back.

With Drin weakened, Sing, still holding her arm, swung her full force into Molean's cot. Drin sat up seconds later, a look of pain and rage on her face.

"Come on, Sing," she taunted. "I know you can do better than that."

As Sing headed for her, Drin snaked her foot under a table next to the cot, and kicked upward. She sent the table flying into the air, hitting Sing's body, causing her to stagger back.

Drin leaped off the cot, screaming her head off, and smashed right into Sing, wrapping her muscular legs around the woman's waist. She then bared her teeth and bit into Sing's ear, tearing deep into the flesh. Blood spurted into her mouth, and Sing shrieked in pain.

As the two women struggled to knock each other down--with Sing trying to throw Drin off her waist--Drin smashed her forehead into Sing's face. Lights exploded in the hunter's head, and she had barely recovered when Drin threw her fist into Sing's jaw. Another punch sent them both to the floor, with Drin on top of Sing.

Drin, seething with anger, punched Sing again. "Don't wimp out on me, Sing!" she shouted as she hit Sing a fourth time. "You killed my mother! Now kill me!" She threw another blow.

Sing managed to clear her head, and she grabbed Drin's arm and threw the woman off her. Drin landed right next to her, and the two quickly scrambled to their feet.